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Just keep in mind that few of us, except the most daring, hard core thrill seekers, choose to go out in winds over 25-30+ mph. However, many, if not most of us, have found ourselves in those conditions after the weather unexpectedly and quickly deteriorated.
Just last week I was on a nice 20 mile sail on a day where the NOAA marine weather forecast was "Partly Sunny Skies, 80-85 degrees, and light and variable winds with waves less than a foot", 5% chance of precipitation. It was a beautiful day and I was having a great time. I was in a bay about five miles from the dock when I noticed massive black clouds gathering over the mountains, never a good sign. So I decided to head back asap.
Within about 15 minutes the winds picked up to about 20 mph and I needed to head into them to get out of the bay. I close-hauled into the winds as best I could but was only making about 2 mph due to the currents. So I fired up the Torqeedo and managed about 3-4 mph into the wind and currents, enough to get me out of the bay and into the broad water. At this point, without the protection of the bay, all hell broke loose and I was now in a major thunderstorm with winds at 25 mph gusting to 30-35 mph and waves from 3-5 feet. These were the worst conditions I had yet faced on the TI in the three seasons I've owned it. I could see that even the larger sail and power boats were struggling to get to safety.
I quickly furled the sail to about a third, which wasn't easy even facing into the wind because the sails were flapping wildly. It took a lot of effort while being tossed about. Now, turning into a beam reach to go the remaining 3 miles to the dock, the boat took off like it was possessed. I was flying and for a few minutes it was thrilling, at least until a wind gust of about 30-35 mph nearly flipped me over. I was at a 45 degree tilt and teetering. Untied down items started falling out of the boat. I quickly turned into the wind, leaned as best I could and waited. Lucky for me the boat decided to come back down. If I overturned in those conditions there was no way I would have time to try to right the boat. The wind and waves would have quickly dashed me and the boat to a nearby cliff. I would have had to try to swim for a safe shore which would have not been easy. I really don't want to even think about it.
Enough was enough, I furled the sail completely and used the Torqeedo to head for the nearest safe shore. I landed shook up, completely soaked, and shivering in the downpour, but alive. Just an hour ago I was lying on the tramps soaking up the sun having a great time. How did this happen so quickly, without any warning?
The only reason I'm relating this account is that anyone in a "small craft", to use NOAA's nomenclature, has to be acutely aware that at any time an unpredicted storm can come out of nowhere and you have to be prepared, especially if you have passengers, and extra especially if they are children. You need to have the knowledge and equipment on hand to get to safety quickly. In retrospect, I should have not tried for the dock, I should have put to shore inside the bay before the storm made conditions nearly impossible except for the most experienced and fearless sailors. I thought I could make it back to the dock but almost lost the boat and possibly my life for being over confident. So, even after three seasons of ownership, I still have a lot to learn about the capabilities and the limitations of both the TI and myself.
My best advice to anyone with the TI is if you find yourself in adverse conditions, get to shore asap before conditions exceed your and/or your boat's capabilities.
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